Author : Nguyen Van Kien; Mai Thach Hoanh; Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hue

Summary : This study focused on a livelihood project for the households affected by salinity in the coastal areas of Thanh Hoa, Vietnam. It is a combination of the studies conducted in 2010 on the conservation and evaluation of sweet potato gene pool conserved at the Plant Resource Center (PRC) and the trials in Da Loc Commune, Hau Loc District, Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.

The project began with the analysis of the 530 varieties of sweet potato found in the coastal areas affected by salinity, and development of a distribution map showing their origins. Laboratory assessment of the sweet potato varieties for salinity tolerance was then done by testing the sample varieties at different salinity levels in order to assess those which can be potentially selected from the genebank. Five potential sweet potato varieties were further evaluated in saline ecosystems. Finally, field trial and selection of salt-tolerant sweet potato varieties based on certain ecological conditions was conducted. The varieties khoai cao san and khoai voi showed the most potential, with harvests amounting to 13–15 tons per hectare, under the saline ecological conditions of Da Loc Commune, Hau Loc District, Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam.